Noun clauses being such a complex and wide-ranging aspect of grammar, I’m forewarning you that this reply will be quite long. I’ll also be withholding my answer to your question as to how many kinds of noun clauses there are until I’ve adequately clarified here what a noun clause is to begin with.
By definition, a
noun clause is a dependent or subordinate clause that functions as a noun within a sentence, whether as subject, direct or indirect object, or complement. A noun clause can’t stand alone as a complete thought because it is typically preceded by a subordinating conjunction as a dependency marker. The subordinating conjunctions are, of course, “that” (it can be elided or omitted in certain cases; see
“Getting a better handle on when to use or to just knock off ‘that’”), “if,” “whether,” the “wh”-words (“who,” “what,” “which,” and “where”), the “wh-ever” words (“whomever,” “whatever,” “whichever,” and “wherever”) and, in some sentence constructions, “for.”
The above definition and particulars of the noun clause should dispel the notion right away that there are only two main kinds of noun clauses; indeed, it is too limiting—even misleading—to say that the two main kinds of noun clause are “that”-clauses and “wh”-clauses. A more comprehensive, more systematic, and more instructive approach is to classify noun clauses into its two general forms and into the eight functions that it can perform in a sentence.
TWO FORMS OF THE NOUN CLAUSEThe two general forms of the noun clause are the
finite noun clause and the
nonfinite noun clause. This is a classification that depends on the form taken by the verb in the noun clause.
A
finite noun clause is a subordinate clause in which the operative verb is in its normal form—meaning that it’s inflected or marked for tense, person, and number. This is the case in the sentence “We are disappointed
that the witness refuses to answer our questions.” Here, the noun clause “that the witness refuses to answer our questions” is finite because the verb “refuses” is marked for tense, person, and number. As I will discuss in detail later, the most common kinds of noun clauses are the finite noun clauses, which typically use the subordinating conjunctions that I enumerated at the outset.
In contrast, a
nonfinite noun clause is a subordinate clause in which the operative verb is not inflected or marked for tense, person, and number. It has three forms, with the operative verb of the noun clause taking the
infinitive form, the
gerund form, or its
base form, as follows:
1. The operative verb is in the infinitive form (to + verb). This is the case in the sentence “The general manager wants
you to submit the sales report now.” Here, the noun clause “you to submit the sales report now” works as the direct object of the verb “wants.” The object pronoun “you” of the sentence serves as the subject of the nonfinite noun clause.
2. The operative verb is in the gerund form (the present participle form that ends in “-ing”). This is the case in the sentence “They all listened to
me playing the piano.” Here, the noun clause “me playing the piano” works as the object of the preposition “to.” The object pronoun “me” of the sentence functions as the subject of the nonfinite noun clause.
3. The operative verb is in the verb’s base form (the infinitive form minus the “to”). This is the case in the sentence “My professor demands
that I revise my dissertation.” Here, the noun clause “that I revise my dissertation” works as the direct object of the verb “demands” ((it answers the question, “Your professor demanded
what?”). The object noun “I” of the sentence functions as the subject of the nonfinite noun clause.
I realize that the discussion above of the two general forms of the noun clause is quite complex and perhaps too demanding for the nonspecialist learner, but I think that taking it up and getting it out of the way this early will give us a much clearer perspective and appreciation of the many ways that noun clauses can work in a sentence.
FUNCTIONS OF NOUN CLAUSESNoun clauses can perform the following eight functions in a sentence: as
subject, as
subject complement, as
direct object, as
object complement, as
indirect object, as
prepositional complement, as
adjective phrase complement, and as
noun phrase complement.
1. Noun clause as subject – it performs the action of the verb or acts upon the verb.
(a) Finite clause as subject:“That”-clause: “
That his reputation has sunk to rock-bottom is not a mystery to me.”
“What”-clause: “
What is remarkable is that she topped the bar exam without reviewing.”
“Whether”-clause: “
Whether he made his millions honestly is a big question.”
“Whatever”-clause: “
Whatever happens to the project is of no concern to me.”
(b) Nonfinite clause as subject:Infinitive clause: “
To find a job should be your top priority now.”
Gerund clause: “
Searching for the missing plane has taken a heavy toll on the company’s finances.”
2. Noun clause as subject complement - it describes the grammatical subject with which it is connected by a linking verb.
(a) Finite clause as subject complement:“That”- clause: “The effect of your intervention was
that the feuding tribes laid down their arms.
“Whoever”-clause: “The winner will be
whoever reaches the beach first.”
“Wherever”-clause: “Our first rest stop is
wherever we need to refill our fuel tank.”
(b) Nonfinite clause as subject complement:Infinitive clause: “Your job is
to ensure adequate funding for our imports.”
Gerund clause: “Our major concern is
raising the academic standards of the college.”
3. Noun clause as direct object – it receives the action of the transitive verb in the main clause.
(a) Finite clause as direct object:“Whatever”-clause: “We will buy
whatever you have left in your inventory.”
“If”-clause: “The picnickers were wondering
if they took the right path.”
“For”-clause: “We are praying
for you to succeed.”
(b) Nonfinite clause as direct object:Infinitive clause: “The couple preferred
to travel with close friends.”
Gerund clause: “He loved
taking siesta after lunch.”
4. Noun clause as object complement – it immediately follows and describes the direct object.
(a) Finite noun clause as object complement:“Whatever”-clause: “You can give your first-born child
whatever name you deem suitable.”
(b) Nonfinite noun clause as object complement:Infinitive clause: “The governor asked his deputies
to be role models in their communities.”
5. Noun clause as indirect object – it indicates to or for whom or what the action of a transitive verb is performed.
(a) Finite noun clause as indirect object:“What”-clause: “Our manager refuses
to give what we have recommended any importance.”
(b) Nonfinite noun clause as indirect object:Gerund clause: “My school considers
participating in athletics a must.
6. Noun clause as prepositional complement – it directly follows a preposition and completes the meaning of a prepositional phrase.
(a) Finite noun clause as prepositional complement:“What”-clause: “The committee is deliberating on
what the task force recommended.”
(b) Nonfinite noun clause as prepositional complement:Gerund clause: “Our neighbor berated us for
hammering on the walls that night.”
7. Noun clause as adjective phrase complement – it completes the meaning of an adjective that is modifying the subject of the main clause.
(a) Finite noun clause as adjective phrase complement: “That”-clause: “The board is delighted
that all divisions of the company met their sales quotas.”
(b) Nonfinite noun clauses don’t function as adjective phrase complement8. Noun clause as noun phrase complement – it completes the meaning of a noun. Only finite noun clauses that begin with “that” can function as a noun phrase complement, as in this sentence: “Our goal
that zero waste will be achieved in one year’s time is not doable.”
By this time it should already be clear why it’s not practicable to classify noun clauses into just two kinds. Indeed, although “that”-clauses and “wh”-clauses are arguably the most common kinds of noun clauses, they are actually only subsets of the finite noun clause, which as discussed above is just one of the two forms of noun clauses. The other form is the nonfinite noun clause, which comprises the infinitive noun clause, gerund noun clause, and base-verb clause. We will be missing a lot of ground about noun clauses if we don’t give this other form the attention that it deserves.
Finally, I will now answer your two other questions about noun clauses:
1. I don’t think it’s advisable to use the term “whether-if-clause.” Both the “whether”-clause and the “if”-clause belong to the category of finite noun clauses but they are normally not used in combination. As you might have noticed in the preceding discussions of the functions of noun clauses, “whether”-clauses are used for many of the grammatical functions of noun clauses, while “if”-clauses are limited to functioning as direct objects.
2. In the sentence “I wonder
if you’ve met Jane,” the clause “if you’ve met Jane” is a finite noun clause working as direct object of the verb “wonder.” As such, that noun clause directly receives the action of that verb (it answers the question, “You wondered
what?”).
That will be all for the forms and kinds of noun clauses in English.
